* God had to inspect the Temple to approve the Temple before He filled the Temple.
* Today, we are the temple.
* We pass inspection through purity.
* If we’re pure, He fills our temple.
* Ezekiel had a vision of God showing him everything about the temple.
* Then he showed him that one day He would come and fill the temple.
* vs 3a - “And the vision I saw was just like the vision that I had seen when he came to destroy the city…”
* Notice that Ezekiel saw the same God who came to destroy the city (chap 9) now coming to fill His temple.
* God is a God of wrath as well as a God of mercy.
* Knowing this will foster reverent fear in us.
* It's up to us as to which God we will see.
* If our temples are clean and we honor Him, then we receive the God who fills us with His mercy.
* But if it's not and we've allowed competing affections in our lives then we will see the God of wrath.
* Fortunately, when Christ comes back He will fill His temple!
* vs 4 - “As the glory of the Lord entered the temple by the gate facing east, 5 the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the temple.”
* The question for us today is, “which God do we see?”
* He wants to be a God of mercy, to fill our temples.
* But it will require sacrifice on our parts.
* vs 27 - “And when they have completed these days, then from the eighth day onward the priests shall offer on the altar your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, and I will accept you, declares the Lord God.”
* After they had completed all the sacrifices, God accepted them and made His home in the temple.
* The same is true with us.
* We rely on Christ’s sacrifice.
* Then we live in purity, repenting when we’ve sinned.
* This will make sure we experience the God of mercy, not the God of wrath.